What if We Were to Act Like a Family?

It began with the whole family returning from a week at camp. We walk in the door, and there’s no air conditioning. Suspecting that our 17 year old furnace and air conditioning units had finally died, we started calling around for quotes.

Since we had a maintenance plan in place with a company, where you pay a monthly amount in exchange for free parts and labour, we decided to give them a call. They sent a technician, who determines that the problem is with our thermostat, and he promptly replaces it, because that is covered under our plan.

Expensive fix

He still can’t get the furnace to read from the thermostat, however, and thus determines that the wire connecting the two would need replacing. That would NOT be covered, and I would have to pay $129.99 + tax for a service visit to install that. I declined, as I was not excited about paying this company any more money than we already were.

My husband and I were already discussing replacing both units, and would likely be getting a new line anyway with their installation. So we proceeded with the quotes on an entire HVAC system, all the while sweating it out for the next couple days, both because of the heat, and because of the looming decision before us.

Costly replacement

As we were pondering over the difference between one system for a few thousand dollars, and another for a few thousand dollars more, something happened. At our mid-week chapel meeting, we shared our burden.

“You don’t have air conditioning?”

I explained the situation.

“You know [my husband] has wired the whole furnace/air conditioning system for this chapel, don’t you? At the very least, we could lend you some box fans for the next few days until you get something in place.”

Helpful saints

I humbly agreed, and that very evening, this wonderful saint, her husband and son appeared at our door, box fan in hand. My husband showed her husband the furnace, and half an hour later, the whole system was fully functioning.

Apparently when the technician had installed the new thermostat, he neglected to properly place the furnace door, and reset the safety switch. The $129.99 + tax thermostat wire was moot, and, at least in the meanwhile, we had some time until we really had to replace both units.

Place we go or a holy body

It all got me thinking. This is why God Himself designed His people to be in fellowship. What would it look like, if instead of turning to Google or the Yellow Pages, we were to turn to each other? What if we were to act like a family, instead of like disparate members, naively under the impression that we are slave to the worldly systems?

I believe that Satan puts incredible effort into making us believe that we are poorer than we really are. What better way to do this, than to make us all think that church is just a place we go to, instead of one holy body that we are responsible for.

Financial repercussions

What would our bank accounts look like, if we could just stop with these maintenance plans, these insurance policies, these yearly contracts? What would our mental, emotional, and even physical health look like without all this nail biting and hair pulling? What would our spiritual health look like, if we actually had the faith in God that we say we do, instead of this “just-in-case-God-fails” mentality that has driven us to legal systems, contracts, terms, conditions, and protection policies?

It’s as if, as Christians, we receive this inheritance deposit cheque from God at our salvation, but we walk around with it in our back pocket, holding off on cashing it in. Then when problems strike, we desperately run off to the cash money store, for a filthy expensive cash loan, thinking we are broke.

Wealth mentality

Jesus named the two greatest commandments as loving God, with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength, and loving your neighbour as yourself (Luke 10:27). I believe He said this for our sake, rather than for His. With complete trust in God, and complete fellowship with others in His body, we are far richer and healthier than we settle for, even while still on this earth.

We just need to cash in that cheque.

Corinne March

Corinne is a wife, and a stay-at-home mom to three children. She attends Scottlea Gospel Chapel, in St. Catharines, ON, where her husband, Stephen, serves as elder.

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